The invention pertains to the art of providing heating and cooling with heat pumps to a number of stages in a material processing operation.
In some material processing plants, such as an ethyl alcohol plant for example, heating is required in some stages while cooling is required in others. Most of the heat has typically been obtained in the form of steam from a boiler while more limited amounts of heat at points requiring such limited amounts may be obtained from an electrical source. The cooling is typically provided by cooling water which may originate from a cooling tower, pond or well.
It is the aim of this invention to provide a heating and cooling system with a heat balance arrangement in which some of the typical sources noted above can be eliminated or reduced.